Health care professionals often wear a surgeon's cap, a bouffant cap (i.e., hair net), or both during medical procedures to prevent contact with hazardous materials including blood or other bodily fluids. In addition, health care professionals are often required to wear a surgeon's cap or a bouffant cap (i.e., hair net) to cover their hair to protect the sterile environment. Moreover, the Association of Registered Nurses (AORN) Guidelines are undergoing revisions, and it is now recommended that head coverings should cover the head, hair, ears, facial hair, and nape of the neck to not only protect health care professionals but to maintain a sterile environment as well. However, traditional surgeon's caps do not cover the ears or the nape of the neck, requiring health care professionals to also don a bouffant cap or hair net to try to cover these regions. Bouffant caps add an additional layer of PPE which can trap heat and increase bulk. Further, bouffant caps are prone to leave red marks and indentations on the forehead after use due to the use of an elastic band to secure the bouffant caps around the head.
One solution is to don a bouffant cap only instead of a bouffant cap and surgeon's cap. However, bouffant caps generally cannot support the use of headlamps or other equipment that may be used by a health care professional. Hence, it is necessary to don both a bouffant cap and a surgeon's cap, as the surgeon's cap has sufficient bulk and structure to support headlamps and other equipment. Nevertheless, problems also exist with the use of a surgeon's cap. Namely, typical surgeon's caps only come in a few sizes and do not provide a secure enough fit for many health care professionals. In addition, although surgeon's caps may be outfitted with ties, the repetition of tying a surgeon's cap to secure its fit over an extended time period can lead to shoulder pain and other issues.
Further, many head covers used during procedures are constructed of non-wettable materials. Particularly, materials such as spunbond or meltspun polyolefin materials lack breathability and wettability, and may result in sweating in various areas of the head due to stress, temperature, and/or personal predisposition to perspiration. Thus, such head covers may cause unsanitary and uncomfortable situations as the material allows sweat to drip into the eyes and onto sterile surfaces.
Consequently, there is a need for a head cover that overcomes the aforementioned shortcomings of existing surgeon's caps and bouffant caps. In particular, a head cover that covers a health care professional's hair without the need to wear a surgeon's cap and a full bouffant cap would also be useful. Additionally, it would be beneficial to provide a head cover that fits a large portion of potential users without the need for adjustment. Furthermore, it may be beneficial to provide a head cover that has improved breathability and/or wettability.